let's go lego
Mar. 23rd, 2014 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gfrancieIt was a long time of planning/coordinating and (sweet lord) discussing but we made it to Legoland (Windsor) this weekend. We grabbed a mess of children, and my Mother in law, and we drove across the country Friday afternoon. Complete with a stop at a service station for a supper that always makes one feel a little sad inside. (thank you Sedgmoor services for the experience.) We met up with my brother & sister inlaw and their kids at a very nice Travelodge in central Windsor. We discovered in looking out at our window that we had a freaking gorgeous view of Windsor castle. Queen you doin' all right. She was even in town. We slept hard after five children bounced on beds. That morning we got up, had breakfast told the children a million times, "Legoland opens at ten. Be cool. We'll get there." The drive isn't far but it is certainly round-about in that English kind of way. Because you know how all roads were essentially laid down about 500 years ago. Then you enter the park and you drive for a few years to get to parking. It was a lovely day and OMG how cute is all the lego stuff on the drive up and my kids kept shouting, "LEGO!"
We entered the park with our pre-paid tickets (you can get a sweet deal if you go with a group of seven or more. There were ten of us.) and there, before us was all of legoland. Every so often I would hear children shout, "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!" and everyone was just so excited and HOLYSHIT THAT THING OVER THERE IS MADE OUT OF LEGO. AND THAT IS TOO AND THAT OVER THERE AND SO MUCH LEGO. Pardon, we were distracted by all things lego. When you enter the park there are many offerings available. You can buy clothes. You can buy sweets. All of the sweets. It was a warehouse of sweets. You can rent a locker, you can get an annual pass, or even pay this extra fee to jump the line on certain rides. (you pay so much and are given what looks like a beeper. Children, one day I will tell you what beepers were. It will blow your mind.) Then there is the BIG LEGO STORE. (everything is in caps at LEGOLAND.) We walked past that as we knew it would be a trip on the way out.
We had a look at the map and my nephew who has wanted to go to Legoland since he was five, (he is almost thirteen now.) said we must go to the cars first. We obliged. We walked down the switch-backing path (taking in the lego statues along the way. They were obviously older editions to the park as they had a slightly faded look to them, but they are still interesting just for the amount of detail that goes into each piece.) until we reached Mini-land. I should mention that on the walk down to mini-land that in spots where there are stairs, there are miniature slides for the kids to go down. (along with some bigger ones.) It does take you a bit longer as we had five children wanting to go down each little slide. Mini-land is something to behold. All these fantastic model scenes done in lego. There were water features, and moving vehicles to observe. You could see central London, Amsterdam, Denmark, Sweden, NASA space station, Brighton, shore scenes, France, I dunno... everything. I think if you have really small children (like under three) you will just chase after them as they won't be as enthused as older children or adults. I have to say some of my favorite parts had to do with pigeons and ducks wandering through the scenes so it looked like some mutant creature was rampaging over Amsterdam.
You continue on your merry way through Duplo Valley (which has a giant water play area where you can buy swimwear and towels, and run around under fountains and things. A bit cold in March but there were some brave souls enjoying themselves.) which is just so darn cute. There is an enormous playground for children. Miss Biscuit was fond of that as there was a pink castle. We spent some time there during lunch as you could sit back, eat your food, and let the kids run around. It was a bit like that party in "American in Paris" where people are screaming and people are being thrown around. Only these kids don't need the booze for that kind of mania. There were also little rides, a theatre, and assorted areas to park pushchairs. I have never seen so many pushchairs in my life until I came here. England isn't exactly a baby-wearing nation, so you will see every make and model of pushchair. All loaded down like the parents are sherpas. You know what, in this moment I am even more grateful that we are passed the diaper/baby accessory stage of life. I went into that park with my messenger handbag and that is it. Do you realize how massive this is in the stages of parenting? No extra clothes/pants and what not. I keep extra napkins and band-aids on me, but both of my hands were free. FREE as a bird.
We reached the car area (Fiat branded) and there are two areas. One for children 3-5, which is a simple track with electric cars that the children drive around and around, while a few attendants stand around helping the kids get back when they crash into the curb and get stuck. Miss Biscuit and her twin cousins drove around and around on that. The attendants showed the children how to drive their cars, and then spent much of the time helping get kids unstuck. The other side for the older kids is MASSIVE. You can pay ten quid for a fancy "license", but most just go and sit and watch the video to show them that they must follow the rules of the road and how to follow the rules of the road in their little electric cars. It is laid out with assorted lanes and traffic stops and the kids can drive around, switch lanes, go through different areas, and generally drive around like most adults do. (sometimes all right, often inattentive, and yeah quite a few fender benders.) My son and my nephew had a total blast and it satisfied life-long dreams of doing the cars. Cars, they be done. You also get a little paper license at the end (be it for the little cars or big cars) saying you are a responsible member of legoland society. There are also boat rides but the line for that was three years long.
We explored various themed areas and went on rides. The line for the train ride was very long and proved to be only a few minutes long and it disappointed me. (I think because it was kind of cold/windy out, and the children were losing their cool. You sort of want sparkles and magic after a wait like that. Maybe this is why I am not an amusement park enthusiast.) The monorail was excellent. You are way high up and in the open but it wasn't terrifying. It was a peaceful ride that gives you this full view of the park, Windsor castle in the distance and then in the waaaaaaaaaaay distance you can see Central London. Miss Biscuit was really impressed by the digger area. She got to sit in a digger and pick up and move balls about. (be warned the line is considerable for that one.) Everyone enjoyed a stunt pirate show where actors did a whole show involving people doing acrobats, jumping on jet-skis, and throwing things around on decks and the water.
Some areas of legoland are slightly tired looking (like Legocity) but other areas are slightly more spiffy. There really is something for nearly every age. From toddlers, to teenagers. The food is amusement park food. (lotta hot dogs, chicken strips, and pizza.) But I did notice that there is something to sort out various dietary needs. (like meat-free, pork-free options, as I saw A LOT of Muslim, and Indian families.) Another fantastic area was the discovery zone, which I think is ideal when you need a bit of down-time from rides and experiences. You can go and choose one of the available lego kits, and sit down in a room with others and put together some lego, and maybe play with it for a bit. They have a wide variety of options too. Classic lego, duplo, lego friends. We didn't explore as much of that area as we wanted to (and to be honest we really only covered about half of the park at best.) In Duplo valley, we went on the Fairytale brook, and I think that proved to be mine and Miss Biscuit's favorite thing ever. We sat in this boat and looked at assorted fairy tale characters in... LEGO! It was just so peaceful and Miss Biscuit kept saying, "Oooooooh!" Eventually we ended up around the viking area and castle area. The maze is wonderful, there are some giant water rides that seem ideal for those who like to spin around and throw up near a water feature. Senor Onion went on his first roller coaster with his Dad and Uncle, and found he is a massive fan of such things. Child, who are you? I don't do roller coasters but I am glad that Mr. Jenner (who loves them) has a child who feels the same way. I will have the job of holding bags and things. I am good with that job. I can just stand on the ground to feel like the world is spinning. (thank you inner-ear infection.)
We had reached the point in the day when everything hurts. We took the hill train to the top. Legoland, you are geniuses for that bit of transport within the park. The kids enjoyed the ride, and we ended up at the top and ventured into the Big Shop. I think if it hadn't been the end of the day, it wouldn't have been such an experience in terms of every bit of humanity running around buying all of the lego like it was bread, eggs, and milk before a storm. There was a nifty area where one could build three custom lego mini-figs for a set price. Senor Onion went to town on that. He made one that looked a bit like him. If he was the sort to wear a ninja mask. We carried those kids back to the hotel, and soaked our feet, because sweet lord, they hurt.
As someone who isn't super keen on amusement parks, I was did enjoy the place. I would be interested in visiting the Legoland in Denmark. The place entertained five children between the ages of 4 and 12. The adults didn't lose their minds, and there was even ice cream.
We entered the park with our pre-paid tickets (you can get a sweet deal if you go with a group of seven or more. There were ten of us.) and there, before us was all of legoland. Every so often I would hear children shout, "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!" and everyone was just so excited and HOLYSHIT THAT THING OVER THERE IS MADE OUT OF LEGO. AND THAT IS TOO AND THAT OVER THERE AND SO MUCH LEGO. Pardon, we were distracted by all things lego. When you enter the park there are many offerings available. You can buy clothes. You can buy sweets. All of the sweets. It was a warehouse of sweets. You can rent a locker, you can get an annual pass, or even pay this extra fee to jump the line on certain rides. (you pay so much and are given what looks like a beeper. Children, one day I will tell you what beepers were. It will blow your mind.) Then there is the BIG LEGO STORE. (everything is in caps at LEGOLAND.) We walked past that as we knew it would be a trip on the way out.
We had a look at the map and my nephew who has wanted to go to Legoland since he was five, (he is almost thirteen now.) said we must go to the cars first. We obliged. We walked down the switch-backing path (taking in the lego statues along the way. They were obviously older editions to the park as they had a slightly faded look to them, but they are still interesting just for the amount of detail that goes into each piece.) until we reached Mini-land. I should mention that on the walk down to mini-land that in spots where there are stairs, there are miniature slides for the kids to go down. (along with some bigger ones.) It does take you a bit longer as we had five children wanting to go down each little slide. Mini-land is something to behold. All these fantastic model scenes done in lego. There were water features, and moving vehicles to observe. You could see central London, Amsterdam, Denmark, Sweden, NASA space station, Brighton, shore scenes, France, I dunno... everything. I think if you have really small children (like under three) you will just chase after them as they won't be as enthused as older children or adults. I have to say some of my favorite parts had to do with pigeons and ducks wandering through the scenes so it looked like some mutant creature was rampaging over Amsterdam.
You continue on your merry way through Duplo Valley (which has a giant water play area where you can buy swimwear and towels, and run around under fountains and things. A bit cold in March but there were some brave souls enjoying themselves.) which is just so darn cute. There is an enormous playground for children. Miss Biscuit was fond of that as there was a pink castle. We spent some time there during lunch as you could sit back, eat your food, and let the kids run around. It was a bit like that party in "American in Paris" where people are screaming and people are being thrown around. Only these kids don't need the booze for that kind of mania. There were also little rides, a theatre, and assorted areas to park pushchairs. I have never seen so many pushchairs in my life until I came here. England isn't exactly a baby-wearing nation, so you will see every make and model of pushchair. All loaded down like the parents are sherpas. You know what, in this moment I am even more grateful that we are passed the diaper/baby accessory stage of life. I went into that park with my messenger handbag and that is it. Do you realize how massive this is in the stages of parenting? No extra clothes/pants and what not. I keep extra napkins and band-aids on me, but both of my hands were free. FREE as a bird.
We reached the car area (Fiat branded) and there are two areas. One for children 3-5, which is a simple track with electric cars that the children drive around and around, while a few attendants stand around helping the kids get back when they crash into the curb and get stuck. Miss Biscuit and her twin cousins drove around and around on that. The attendants showed the children how to drive their cars, and then spent much of the time helping get kids unstuck. The other side for the older kids is MASSIVE. You can pay ten quid for a fancy "license", but most just go and sit and watch the video to show them that they must follow the rules of the road and how to follow the rules of the road in their little electric cars. It is laid out with assorted lanes and traffic stops and the kids can drive around, switch lanes, go through different areas, and generally drive around like most adults do. (sometimes all right, often inattentive, and yeah quite a few fender benders.) My son and my nephew had a total blast and it satisfied life-long dreams of doing the cars. Cars, they be done. You also get a little paper license at the end (be it for the little cars or big cars) saying you are a responsible member of legoland society. There are also boat rides but the line for that was three years long.
We explored various themed areas and went on rides. The line for the train ride was very long and proved to be only a few minutes long and it disappointed me. (I think because it was kind of cold/windy out, and the children were losing their cool. You sort of want sparkles and magic after a wait like that. Maybe this is why I am not an amusement park enthusiast.) The monorail was excellent. You are way high up and in the open but it wasn't terrifying. It was a peaceful ride that gives you this full view of the park, Windsor castle in the distance and then in the waaaaaaaaaaay distance you can see Central London. Miss Biscuit was really impressed by the digger area. She got to sit in a digger and pick up and move balls about. (be warned the line is considerable for that one.) Everyone enjoyed a stunt pirate show where actors did a whole show involving people doing acrobats, jumping on jet-skis, and throwing things around on decks and the water.
Some areas of legoland are slightly tired looking (like Legocity) but other areas are slightly more spiffy. There really is something for nearly every age. From toddlers, to teenagers. The food is amusement park food. (lotta hot dogs, chicken strips, and pizza.) But I did notice that there is something to sort out various dietary needs. (like meat-free, pork-free options, as I saw A LOT of Muslim, and Indian families.) Another fantastic area was the discovery zone, which I think is ideal when you need a bit of down-time from rides and experiences. You can go and choose one of the available lego kits, and sit down in a room with others and put together some lego, and maybe play with it for a bit. They have a wide variety of options too. Classic lego, duplo, lego friends. We didn't explore as much of that area as we wanted to (and to be honest we really only covered about half of the park at best.) In Duplo valley, we went on the Fairytale brook, and I think that proved to be mine and Miss Biscuit's favorite thing ever. We sat in this boat and looked at assorted fairy tale characters in... LEGO! It was just so peaceful and Miss Biscuit kept saying, "Oooooooh!" Eventually we ended up around the viking area and castle area. The maze is wonderful, there are some giant water rides that seem ideal for those who like to spin around and throw up near a water feature. Senor Onion went on his first roller coaster with his Dad and Uncle, and found he is a massive fan of such things. Child, who are you? I don't do roller coasters but I am glad that Mr. Jenner (who loves them) has a child who feels the same way. I will have the job of holding bags and things. I am good with that job. I can just stand on the ground to feel like the world is spinning. (thank you inner-ear infection.)
We had reached the point in the day when everything hurts. We took the hill train to the top. Legoland, you are geniuses for that bit of transport within the park. The kids enjoyed the ride, and we ended up at the top and ventured into the Big Shop. I think if it hadn't been the end of the day, it wouldn't have been such an experience in terms of every bit of humanity running around buying all of the lego like it was bread, eggs, and milk before a storm. There was a nifty area where one could build three custom lego mini-figs for a set price. Senor Onion went to town on that. He made one that looked a bit like him. If he was the sort to wear a ninja mask. We carried those kids back to the hotel, and soaked our feet, because sweet lord, they hurt.
As someone who isn't super keen on amusement parks, I was did enjoy the place. I would be interested in visiting the Legoland in Denmark. The place entertained five children between the ages of 4 and 12. The adults didn't lose their minds, and there was even ice cream.
